Buying LED Lights

You heard wrong. They use as much power as any light (Floro/HID) of the same wattage. You won't save any money on power.

 

^what he said. A 40w lamp uses 40w whether its cfl hid or led. That being said, LEDs are more efficient, but really I would recomend a small hid setup instead of LEDs, I still believe they have a way to go to be great for growing.

On the subject of power consumption though, a couple hundred watts is really nothing at all, a good gaming computer an pull 1000watts, nevermind the tv and sound systems, an u don't see the Feds banging down gamers doors!

 

I changed out my MPS for LED (CAL, light works 800) and I am NEVER going back, unless it craps out in the middle of a grow and I don't have a replacement.

The results were awesome.

 

Be careful with the advice out there. I don't have the link in front of me, but someone did a wattage draw test on some LEDs. I know because of my own research that the AdvancedLED DS100 (100w) led uses 3W LED bulbs, but the draw on the actual unit is only 92w. So theoretically, it may save you a couple watts.

Also, be aware that there is much more to LED lighting than just the wattage. You need to know degree of the lights and it's core coverage area over just surface coverage. Meaning the spectrum fall out is greater/lesser on certain areas of the stated coverage area.

I myself am looking at getting an LED for my FLOWER area. I have a small two chamber cabinet, need something low heat.

 

I would strongly recommend that you skip ebay and buy a lamp from an established business, one that's been around for a few years and will be there to stand by their warranty. Some of these are California Light works, ProSource (I have a 180), Black Dog, Hydrogrow. There are a lot of ripoffs and false claims out there, and lights that are just useless for what we want.

This is not to say that all lights from ebay are generic Chinese crap. It's just a new field with new technology, and anyone who is halfway handy could put these together with cheap ingredients then sell it like it's the latest and greatest. The consumer would never know the difference. So stick with a name brand, yeah it's gonna cost a few bucks but in the long run you'll be happier with it.

 

All led panels that i have ever seen for sale are made in China. I have found each different design from a different manufacturer on alibaba.com. Black dog, hydro grow, magnum, etc... IMO the best way to get led panels is to buy them from the manufacturer in china and not somebody who imported them and is re selling them @ a ridiculous markup. I order mine direct from cidly, they sell single units made to order, you can choose the spectrum of light you want and everything. Plus u can be sure that the diodes are at least 3w chips.

 

The seller gave you basically no good info. You want to make sure it is using 3w or greater diodes. That is one of the more important things right next to the light spectrum. I wouldn't buy a led off ebay, I'm sure there are some good panels on Ebay, but there is the uncertainty of possibly getting a crap panel that doesn't work well or breaks with no way to fix it quickly.

 

Shadows the problem with buying direct from china is to get real low price you have to buy in lots...I had 4 led lamps 40w-120w bought them on CL over two yr period..experimented and did seedlings, clones,vegged..couple of harvests. After two yrs IMO leds just aren't equal to hps..it's the cost and coverage. Leds do everything except flower well for the cost.To get everything in a kit for hps say a dimmable 600w/cool tube costs as low as $180...a comparable led is maybe $700-$800..that's the problem right now with led...i kept two and sold the others used the $$$ to up grade my 400w hps to dimmable 600w and still had $

 

That one you linked isn't bad actually. Not the ideal spectrum, but it would be good for the price.

I'll put it to you this way. I have a 270w apollo panel, and i HAD a 600w HPS setup. I yielded the same amount with the same clones under the 270w apollo that i did under the 600w HPS. Now i'm not putting that all to the LED being better, a GOOD led panel with a grower who knows how to get the most out of the light will get the same results as you would expect from a HID with double the wattage. LED lights require an even canopy and that means the grower needs to get good at training plants.

LED lights do not need a bulb to be replaced every 6 months to 1 year. Their bulbs are rated to last for 50,000+ hours. I would replace them @ half their life span though.

The real energy savings come from the heat output of a led, or rather, lack of heat output. Since they do not put off as much heat you do not have to run air conditioning or air cooling to keep the room cool. Not to mention that air cooling a HID light reduces the lumen output of the bulb because the arc tube is cooled down and the light has to pass through a glass panel as well. I removed the glass panel from my blackstar 240w panel for that reason. I think the light loss due to the glass is around 10% but don't quote me on that.

Also led lights emit all their light in one direction unlike HID lights which need reflectors. Light is lost due to the reflection, i cant remember how much of a drop there is, 35% seems to ring a bell. Again don't quote me on that. But the inverse square law applies to the distance between the light bulb and the top of the reflector, take off a 35% reduction in the light intensity for the reflection after that, then calculate the intensity of the light from the top of the reflector, through the glass on the hood (another 10% loss) and down to the canopy. HID reflectors actually waste quite a bit of energy, of course not having them would be worse, unless you hang the bulb vertically and put plants around it.

 

I have found suppliers that will sell individual units. I can get you their email if you want.

I look @ the cost comparison this way. How much would it cost me to buy a ballast, magnum xxl, ducting, inline fan. And run it all. An inline draws 150w of power roughly. AND on top of that, like i mentioned in the last post. All of that air cooling reduces the light intensity.

I see where you are coming from though. If you just want a light and don't care about anything else. HID is easier to find, easier to service, and there is more knowledge about using them.

IMO HID lights are dangerous. I read about grow house fires in the paper quite often. If you spray water on a HID bulb it blows, if you leave oil from your fingers on a hid bulb, it can blow. A power surge can blow the bulb. If something falls on the hood it can catch on fire. If the hood falls down it will light the plants under it on fire. If something goes wrong the LED will just stop working, it doesn't catch on fire, it doesn't blow up and send shrapnel everywhere. It just stops working.

 

This thread has enlightened me loads! Thanks guys!

 

That less power to grow the same amount is pure gibberish (I call it a lie). A 90Watt LED would be a little less effective than a 90 watt HID. A good LED will produce good bud but will in fact take you longer to grow the same amount, compared to HID Lamp. LEDs are not more efficient or better watt for watt than HID lighting (or we would all be using them). Hands down the best grow lights are HIDs, but other lighting sources will in fact grow marijuana.

A 90 WATT LED would be ok for a single short plant.

That said, LED lights will grow some nice bud. But you have to keep the plants short (3' tall or less) and keep the tops real close to the source of the light. Bud not placed close to the lamp will be undersized and fluffly. So short small grows do well with LEDs. You won't yield as much in the same amount of time, but you will get some decent harvests and good quality bud (if done correct). You still need to ventilate your grow room (regardless of what the sales guy say), they do make heat. 360 watts of LED lights made my grow room cycle hourly during the cold season, but that is a good thing, you need to control the humidity. We did use a lot less CO2 during the tests.

I have lots of LEDs stored in my attic (almost brand new) that I did not pay for, but I am growing today with a HID system that I bought myself.

Some pictures of bud grown by me using LED lamps (360 Watts):

 

Shadows all you said is true and i'm wary but with a good grow design taking all those factors into account when i built it i'm confident in my design plus 20yrs experience. My chambers are multi purpose so are vented but i don't think led run cool as people think..you still need venting forthe upper watts IMO...but something falling on it will not start fire true..i worry about the cheap wiring though..of my 4 led lamps 2 had shorts in them i had to fix..worrisome

 

Rump haven't seen you in awhile..good to see ya

 

LED vs HID comparisons comes down to how the plants are grown honestly. Large plants will yield more under a hid light and smaller plants will yield more under a LED. It all just depends on what your grow room looks like.

 

All i use is the minimum air exchange needed to replenish the CO2 that is being used. I agree, you absolutely need air exchange. Bit i can tailor my air exchange around the plants needs, not around removing the heat from the lights.

As for the bulbs burning out. If you look at the design of the apollo led. It is modular, if a LED goes out all you do is unscrew the back, pop it off, unplug the mod with the bad chip and hook a new one in. The mods are only $15 to replace, not to mention a 5 year warranty on top of that. It all comes down to getting the right panel and not cheaping out with one that is held together by glue.